Twenty-Four: Of the Cottage, and of the Song

After surviving the river, Thomas carries Delphine to a nearby cottage and returns for Père Matthieu, whose swollen face and labored breathing reveal he is dying. An old man inside, himself sick with the plague, reluctantly lets them in. Thomas settles the priest by the fire while Delphine comforts him.

At Matthieu’s gesture, Thomas notices a dusty lute. The old man can barely play, but Delphine tunes it expertly and sings. The song awakens tender memories in Thomas, the old man, and Père Matthieu, briefly restoring beauty amid despair.

As the music fades, Père Matthieu, near death, speaks haltingly of a vision and asks Thomas to find his brother Robert, though he cannot say what message to deliver. He dies quietly, his eyes already sealed.

The narration looks ahead: over the next two days Thomas buries first Père Matthieu, then the fevered old man. When Thomas and Delphine depart for Avignon, they lead the old man’s goat; one dog remains inside, and the female dog lies faithfully on her master’s grave.

That night, before these burials, Delphine tries to breathe life back into Matthieu, pleading for divine aid. She senses a response—“Leave him with us, little moon. You’re not strong enough…not yet.”—and fails, realizing the limits of her growing, mysterious gift.